A divorce without children in California costs $435 to file, requires 6 months of state residency plus 3 months of county residency under Cal. Fam. Code § 2320, and takes a mandatory minimum of 6 months and one day to finalize under Cal. Fam. Code § 2339. California is a pure no-fault, community-property state, so assets acquired during marriage split 50/50.
Key Facts: Divorce Without Children in California
| Factor | Detail |
|---|---|
| Filing Fee | $435 (statewide); ~$450 in Riverside, San Bernardino, San Francisco |
| Waiting Period | 6 months + 1 day minimum (from date of service) |
| Residency Requirement | 6 months in state + 3 months in county |
| Grounds | No-fault: irreconcilable differences (or permanent legal incapacity) |
| Property Division Type | Community property — equal 50/50 division |
As of March 2026. Verify current fees with your local Superior Court clerk before filing.
How Much Does a Divorce Without Children Cost in California?
The court filing fee for a divorce without children in California is $435 as of 2026, and the responding spouse pays an additional $435 to file a Response, for a combined court cost of $870. A few counties charge slightly more — Riverside County lists $450 due to a local courthouse-construction surcharge, and San Bernardino and San Francisco add similar surcharges. Beyond filing fees, expect $50-$100 for sheriff service of process or $75-$200 for a private process server, since California prohibits self-service of divorce papers. Motion fees run about $60 each, so a fully contested case can exceed $1,000 in court costs alone before attorney fees.
Beginning January 1, 2026, Senate Bill 1427 created a new Joint Petition for Dissolution (Form FL-700) that lets fully-agreeing couples file together for a single $435 fee instead of $870. This option applies regardless of marriage length or asset complexity, provided both spouses agree to all final terms in writing. For a childless couple who agree on everything, the joint petition can cut court costs roughly in half. If you cannot afford the fee, a fee waiver is available under Judicial Council Form FW-001 when household income is at or below 125% of federal poverty guidelines or you receive benefits like CalWORKs or Medi-Cal.
What Are the Residency Requirements for a No Kids Divorce Process in California?
Under Cal. Fam. Code § 2320, at least one spouse must have lived in California for 6 months and in the filing county for 3 months immediately before filing the petition — and only one spouse needs to meet both thresholds. These residency rules apply identically whether or not the couple has children; being childless does not shorten or waive the six-month statewide requirement. If the two spouses live in different counties, you may file in the county where either party has satisfied the 3-month county requirement.
If you do not yet meet the residency thresholds but want to begin the process, California allows you to file for legal separation, which has no residency requirement. You can later amend the petition to request dissolution once you satisfy the 6-month state and 3-month county rules. This strategy also starts the six-month finality clock earlier, because service of process on the legal-separation petition (later amended to a dissolution) begins the same waiting period that governs when the court can terminate marital status. For a divorce without children California residents seeking speed, this workaround can save weeks.
What Are the Grounds for a Childless Divorce in California?
California recognizes only two grounds for divorce under Cal. Fam. Code § 2310: irreconcilable differences and permanent legal incapacity to make decisions. Roughly 95% of California divorces cite irreconcilable differences, defined by Cal. Fam. Code § 2311 as substantial reasons for not continuing the marriage — not minor or trivial complaints. California became the first no-fault state in 1969, so you never have to prove adultery, cruelty, or abandonment.
Because California is a pure no-fault jurisdiction, a divorce cannot be blocked by an unwilling spouse. California permits unilateral divorce: if one spouse files citing irreconcilable differences, the court will grant the dissolution even if the other spouse contests it. The respondent's disagreement with that characterization does not change the outcome. This design is intentional — the legislature concluded that forcing a person to remain married against their will produces worse outcomes than allowing a unilateral exit. For a simple divorce no children situation, this means a spouse who wants out cannot be trapped, though the case can still be contested on financial terms like property division and spousal support.
How Is Property Divided in a Divorce Without Children in California?
California is a community-property state, so under Cal. Fam. Code § 2550 the court must divide the community estate equally — a 50/50 split — unless the spouses agree otherwise in writing. Under Cal. Fam. Code § 760, community property is all property, real or personal, acquired by either spouse during the marriage while domiciled in California, including wages, purchased assets, and debts such as credit cards, car loans, and student loans incurred during the marriage. The dividing line is timing: property acquired between the date of marriage and the date of separation is presumed community property.
Separate property is not divided. Assets one spouse owned before marriage, inheritances, gifts to one spouse, and anything acquired after the date of separation remain that spouse's separate property. Fault plays no role — adultery does not shift the 50/50 split, and the equal-division mandate applies regardless of whether the result feels fair to either party. One important exception exists for financial misconduct: if a spouse intentionally hides or wastes ("dissipates") community assets, the court can adjust the division to account for that breach of fiduciary duty. In a no-dependents divorce, property and debt division and spousal support are usually the two contested issues, since child-related disputes are absent.
| Property Type | Divided in Divorce? | Governing Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Wages/income during marriage | Yes — 50/50 | § 760 / § 2550 |
| Assets bought during marriage | Yes — 50/50 | § 760 |
| Debts incurred during marriage | Yes — shared | § 760 |
| Property owned before marriage | No — separate | Separate property |
| Inheritances and gifts | No — separate | Separate property |
| Assets acquired after separation | No — separate | Separate property |
What Is Summary Dissolution and Do I Qualify Without Children?
Summary dissolution is California's simplified divorce track under Cal. Fam. Code § 2400, designed for short, low-asset marriages with no children, and having no children is a mandatory eligibility condition. To qualify, the marriage must be 5 years or less as of the date of separation, neither spouse can own real property (a residential lease under one year without a purchase option is allowed), and community debts (excluding car loans) generally cannot exceed roughly $7,000 under the current inflation-adjusted threshold. The dollar limits under § 2400 are adjusted every odd-numbered year for inflation, so verify the exact 2026 figures with the Judicial Council before relying on them.
Summary dissolution carries two significant trade-offs. First, both spouses must permanently waive all rights to spousal support — you can never seek support later. Second, upon judgment both parties irrevocably waive the right to appeal and to move for a new trial under § 2403. Either spouse can revoke the summary dissolution at any point before judgment, which converts the case to standard dissolution. Do not confuse summary dissolution with the new SB 1427 joint petition that began January 1, 2026 — the joint petition follows the standard divorce process and has no asset or marriage-length caps, while summary dissolution is a separate, older shortcut with strict limits under Cal. Fam. Code §§ 2400–2406.
What Forms Do I File for a No Dependents Divorce in California?
The core starting form for a standard California divorce is the FL-100 Petition for Dissolution of Marriage, filed with the Superior Court in your county along with the FL-110 Summons and the $435 filing fee. When there are no children, you skip all custody and child-support paperwork (such as the FL-105/UCCJEA declaration and FL-150 issues tied to child support), which meaningfully simplifies the packet. After filing, you must serve your spouse, who then has 30 days to file an FL-120 Response.
Both spouses must exchange financial disclosures even in a childless case: the Preliminary Declaration of Disclosure includes the FL-140, an FL-142 Schedule of Assets and Debts, and an FL-150 Income and Expense Declaration. Guidance suggests completing your preliminary disclosure within 30 days rather than waiting for the deadline. Once terms are settled or the waiting period elapses, you file the FL-180 Judgment and FL-190 Notice of Entry of Judgment. Couples using the new 2026 joint-petition route file the FL-700 instead of separate FL-100 and FL-120 forms. Always confirm the current form set on the California Courts self-help site (courts.ca.gov) or your local court, because counties may require additional local forms.
How Long Does a Divorce Without Children Take in California?
The absolute minimum time to finalize any divorce in California is 6 months and one day, set by the mandatory waiting ("cooling-off") period under Cal. Fam. Code § 2339. Critically, this six-month clock starts on the date the respondent is served with the divorce papers, not the date the petition is filed. There are no exceptions — even if a childless couple agrees on everything the day after filing, the court cannot terminate marital status until the six-month period expires.
In practice, an uncontested divorce without children often takes 6 to 9 months because it is one of the simplest case types: with no custody battle, no child-support calculation, and no parenting plan, the only issues are property, debt, and spousal support. A contested childless divorce with disputed assets or support can take 12 to 18 months or longer. The new SB 1427 joint petition (effective January 1, 2026) can shorten the practical timeline for agreeing couples because it eliminates the filing-to-service gap and starts the six-month clock immediately upon joint filing rather than waiting for one spouse to serve the other. Even so, no procedure can waive the underlying six-month statutory minimum.
Do I Have to Pay Spousal Support in a Childless Divorce in California?
Spousal support is not automatic in a California divorce without children, but a longer-earning spouse may owe temporary or long-term support depending on the marriage length and each spouse's income and earning capacity. California treats marriages under 10 years as "short-term," where support typically lasts about half the length of the marriage, while marriages of 10 years or more are "long-term," giving courts broader discretion over duration. The absence of children removes child support entirely, so spousal support is often the single largest financial issue in a no-kids divorce.
Courts weigh statutory factors including each spouse's income, earning capacity, marital standard of living, age, health, and contributions to the marriage. Spouses can also waive spousal support by written agreement — and a permanent, irrevocable waiver is a mandatory condition of the summary dissolution track under § 2400. A key point for divorce without children California cases: because child-related expenses are gone, negotiations focus almost entirely on property division and spousal support, which sometimes makes these cases faster to settle, and sometimes more contentious when one spouse depends on the other's income.